The Lorendal soldiers prepare for combat. Two men on the battlements drop their weapons and prepare the catapults.

Faerden mounts up and leads his men out through the gate, while the sentries light their crossbow bolts on fire at a nearby brazier.

The soldiers of Norhavren continue their charge, their fury as unyielding as the north wind. The troops let out a loud war cry that can be heard across the battlefield, shaking their foes with fear (-1 to skill for 1 round).

The sentries open fire on Lord Markus, but fail to hit him.

Unfazed, Lord Faerden charges forward valiantly, battleaxe in hand. He strikes a fierce blow against Lord Markus as he counters...

...Yet Markus' counter isn't strong enough! He loses a hit point and is knocked from his mount, who continues to run forward until it realizes its rider is gone.

In a humiliating show of cowardice, the Lorendal troops shut the gates and brace them with their muscles rather than charging at the enemy like true warriors would do. Tarius sits back and watches them do his dirty work, while the rest of Faerden's men head for either the battlements or the armory.

Alagard climbs to the battlements and attempts to cast a blessing upon Lord Faerden, but his range dice fall just short (I used IVHorseman's rules for this).

The Norhavren mounted Knights charge at Lord Faerden; the first strikes Faerden with his halberd, but Faerden blocks the blow just in time.

The second is less honorable, and swings his halberd downward to strike at Faerden's horse!

The gruesome blow nearly cuts the horse in two, and it dies instantly as Faerden is thrown from his mount. He lands directly in front of the now-recovered Lord Markus!

Markus seizes the opportunity and swings his battleaxe into Faerden's back, but his armor shields him from the blow!

The Norhavren ballistas also fired. The first one was successful, as its bolt sailed over the battlements and impaled the catapult operator.

The second one also managed to hit, and its powerful bolt knocked Alagard off the battlements (-1 HP).

The Lorendal knights charge their Norhavren counterparts with their corseques. The first failed to do any damage, while the other missed.

Alagard attempts to cast a magic missile spell at the Norhavren knights, but again he fails.

Three of the Lorendal knights made it into the armory, and managed to find some better weapons.

Faerden gets up and attacks Sir Rupert with his Axe, but Rupert blocks the blow!

The Norhavren knights attack the Lorendal knights with their halberds, but fail to kill either of them.

Faerden is dealt a cruel surprise as the cold head of Markus' axe cuts into his armor plate and buries itself deep in his spine.

He falls to the ground, dead.

A Norhavren crossbowman fires a bolt into one of the Lorendal horse's heads, killing it and sending the rider flying backward.

The ballistas also fire again, but this time Alagard puts up a magical wall to protect himself.

The dismounted Lorendal knight readies his weapon and impales a Norhavren knight as he rides by, killing him.

The second one aims his corseque downward and charges at Markus, but his immensely high armor roll spared him from death.

He then swings around and kills the horse with his axe, sending the rider flying off to the side.

The dismounted knight must have found favor with the dread pirate 2x2 or something, as his armor roll saved him from both the Norhavren knight's halberd and a lethal ballista bolt!

Surrounded by enemy forces, the disrupted Lorendal knight dies beneath the blows of several Norhavren blades.

The other Lorendal knight swings his corseque around and cuts into the Norhavren knight's armor, killing him.

As the Norhavren troops draw ever closer, the sentries fire their crossbows at the leading knight. He dies as numerous crossbow bolts tear through his breastplate.

The Lorendal knight is soon surrounded as Markus and the second column of Norhavren troops move up.

The ballistas aim at the main gate and fire. The powerful shots pierce the door's thick wooden bearings and force them open, as the troops bracing the door are knocked down.

The Norhavren troops waste no time in charging the gate. They are now very close to the fortress!

Realizing that he may die very soon, the Lorendal knight readies his weapon for one last charge, and runs toward the Norhavren column. He then misses his attack.

Lorendal footmen, backed up by two more knights, rush out to meet the Norhavren soldiers. Two of them are killed by crossbow fire from the sentries, while Alagard successfully casts a fireball spell that kills two more.

The heroic Lorendal knight dies as he is cut down by several Norhavren troops, while another knight is killed by a well-aimed ballista bolt.

With no regard whatsoever to the safety of their own men, the Norhavren battle cannon fires and kills three of their own men, along with three Lorendal troops and a knight.

Knowing that they must warn the kingdom of the Norhavren assault, Tarius and Alagard escape through the south gate and leave their men to die for them like cowards.

The Lorendal soldiers make one last desperate push to rout the Norhavren troops. Three of them charge at Lord Markus, who is now at the center of the gate.

This proves to be a huge mistake as Lord Markus swings his fearsome axe and kills all three men in a single swipe, severing heads and crushing bones.

After a couple more turns, Sir Rupert and his men move up against the castle wall to avoid the catapult, while Lord Markus kills even more Lorendal soldiers. In the end, the Lorendal troops were completely wiped out.

Lord Markus: "We have won a great victory this day! Once more the people of Lorendal will fear the might of Norhavren!"

Sir Rupert: "My Lord, don't you think they would have managed to alert their superiors? Surely the Lorendal would have attempted something of the sort."

Markus: "Indeed. Which is why I am sending you after their retreating men!"

Rupert: "My Lord, you wish for me to go into Lorendal territory alone?"

Markus: "Do I detect a bit of hesitation in your voice? No, I will not send you alone. Take a small detachment of elite warriors and pursue the cowards to their nearest town. Wipe them out, then burn the village for good measure. Don't fail me Rupert."

Rev. Sylvanus wrote:This was a very exciting siege, actually; very well done. I haven't assessed the pictures very well; what were the troop totals of Lions versus Dragons? Just curious.

I also like the ballistae.

The forces are actually about even; although I'm pretty sure that Lorendal has a few more soldiers than Norhavren, despite what our heroes said. I've also added a few more specialist troops to Norhavren since the battle; they might have a part in the next one.